Open positions
Opportunities for Master projects
Prospective Master students that are interested in carrying out a research project covering a specific subject in the field of environmental trace element cycling please contact . Please do not forget to include your CV and a short description of your research interests.
We currently have an open project available:
Breaking the cadmium cycle: investigating a novel method for cadmium removal from mineral and recycling fertilizers
Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic trace metal with detrimental effects on human health. It is therefore essential to keep Cd content in crops as low as possible. However, Cd is naturally present in soils, and its concentration can be critically increased by different types of fertilizers, thereby impairing soil quality and enhancing Cd uptake by crops. Although removing Cd from soils or contaminated fertilizers would be desirable, such approaches are limited by high economic and energy costs and low selectivity, which can lead to the co-removal of essential trace metals like zinc. For the proposed thesis work, you will investigate the effectivity and efficiency of a novel method to remove Cd from mineral phosphorus fertilizers as well as recycling fertilizers from agricultural (i.e. organic fertilizers such as slurries) and urban waste streams (i.e. products from sewage sludge). This new method aims to reduce toxic trace metals in fertilizers and could promote more environmentally sustainable use and support a circular economy in Swiss agriculture and beyond.
In this master thesis you will
- Design and conduct lab experiments at EAWAG (Dübendorf) from proof-of-concept studies (i.e. biogeochemistry) towards real-world application in sustainable plant nutrition (i.e. removing Cd from fertilizers).
- Conduct systematic literature research on the state-of-the-art of trace metal removal from fertilizers and other matrices, on the techniques used in Switzerland and beyond and their pro and contra.
- Learn how to conduct scientific experiments, prepare samples in the wet chemistry lab and quantify trace metals in the lab.
- Have the chance to present your research to researchers from ETHZ and EAWAG.
- Receive supervision and training throughout the project including planning, literature research, data acquisition, laboratory work, analytics, data evaluation and thesis writing.
Supervisors
- Geremia Pellegri: PhD student in the group of Inorganic Environmental Geochemistry.
- Dr. Matthias Wiggenhauser: Initiator of soilmetalS project.
- Prof. Lenny Winkel: professor of the group of inorganic environmental geochemistry.
- PD. Dr. Federica Tamburini: Group of Grassland Sciences, Institute of agricultural sciences.
Interested?
Further information: